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I have a little problem. I'm addicted to cookbooks, food writing, recipe collecting, and cooking. I have a lot of recipes waiting for me to try them, and ideas from articles, tv, and restaurants often lead to new dishes. I started losing track of what I've done. So now I'm taking photos and writing about what I've prepared—unless it's terrible in which case I forget it ever happened.

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I’ve read several great posts lately about the organic products from da Rosario, and I will join in the chorus of praise. I received a bottle of their black truffle oil, couldn’t wait to try it, and wouldn’t be mentioning it if it weren’t fantastic. The truffle fragrance from the bottle is enough to make me swoon, and I’ve been known to simply stop reading a restaurant menu as soon as I see a dish served with truffle oil or truffles or any variant of truffleness. I thought back to my last restaurant experience with truffle oil to come up with a plan for using this. We went to Asti for Kurt’s birthday and started with the antipasti platter. Among several delicious things, there was a white bean puree with a pool of truffle oil on top of it and some crunchy grissini along-side it. That became my corner of the platter, and nothing else mattered for a few minutes.

Yes, I thought, white bean puree. Then memory number two flashed by which involved an impossibly light and airy zucchini puree I recalled as an amuse bouche once enjoyed at Aquarelle. I began to imagine a hybrid of the two with some garlic pungency and a little freshness of lemon, and then I turned on the oven. I roasted three bulbs of garlic because having extra roasted garlic always ends up being a good thing. For the last 15 minutes of their roasting time, I put some peeled zucchini in the oven too. Once cool, I chopped the zucchini, squeezed the softened cloves from the garlic heads, and put both in a food processor with two cans of white beans that had been rinsed and drained. That combination was joined by some olive oil, a little lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper, and it was pureed. It seemed just a little flat, so I added some minced fresh garlic and a little more salt.

The zucchini lightens the mixture leaving it fluffier than it is otherwise. The roasted garlic and fresh garlic worked together to intensify the flavor, and the lemon brightened it up as it does. It’s delicious on crostini or carrots or spread into a sandwich with lots of lettuce, but none of that matters because its purpose was to be a pillow on which the truffle oil would rest en route to my mouth. And, that, was just delicious.

-roast garlic in a 400 degree oven until softened, about 40 minutes depending on the size of the garlic (I prefer to cut off the very top of the bulb, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper before wrapping in parchment and foil and placing in the oven.)-peel zucchini, place on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper place zucchini in oven for the last 15 minutes of roasting time-remove garlic and zucchini from oven and allow to cool enough to handle; squeeze garlic cloves from bulb into the bowl of a food processor, cut stem ends from zucchini and chop remaining into large chunks; add chunks to food processor bowl along with remaining ingredients; puree until smooth; taste for salt and adjust as needed-serve on crostini topped liberally with truffle oil

I happen to have over 2 lbs of white beans that I got from Vic's grandparents' garden. I have already cooked them and need to use them up within the next 10 days before we return to Miami. This is perfect. Thanks!

That is GORGEOUS. I love any type of bean puree... and this is perfect because two of my friends who are vegans are coming over for dinner this weekend and this looks like the most perfect appetizer to serve!

I admired the idea of zucchini puree. Never tyhought it before, but sounds just superb when combined with garlic and white beans. Thank you for sharing. I'll definitely try it as I'm always in search for new zucchini recipes.

These puree-topped crostini look marvelous! I don't doubt I could an entire platter of these. I never thought of zucchini being used in this way but I love your description of it as making the mixture fluffier. Now, I just need to get that bottle of truffle oil . . .

I just need to let you know that I made these and OMG they were SO GOOD! SO SO GOOD! My boyfriend has been requesting it ever since I made it a few weeks back! Even last night, at 11:30 pm, he was like "I want zucchini and white bean soup"! haha!